Astrophotography has shifted from a niche pursuit to a mainstream hobby, and the telescope you choose now matters as much as the camera you bolt onto it. The best instruments balance sharp optics, practical focal lengths and real-world usability so you spend more time capturing nebulae and galaxies and less time fighting gear.

Astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and UCLA will develop a next-generation instrument for detecting and studying the formation of planets around nearby stars, supported by a $2 million gift from the Kavli Foundation and individual philanthropy.

Starlink is growing fast, and SpaceX has filed paperwork for as many as 42,000 satellites. Others such as OneWeb, Amazon, Qianfan and GuoWang are also building “mega-constellations”. In total Dr Borlaff reckons there could be around half a million satellites in low orbits—below about 2,000 kilometres—by 2040.

A new NASA-led study found that the increasing number of satellites in low-Earth orbit could ruin up to 96% of images from some orbiting telescopes.

Proliferating satellites are beginning to harm the science work of the beloved Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories

From nebulas and galaxies to star clusters, the sun and the moon, here’s what to image in the night sky using a smart telescope — and the best one for the job.

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has puzzled astronomers with behaviour inconsistent with known comet physics. Its unusual anti-tail, which remains sun-facing rather than typical comet behaviour, has cast doubt on the ability of current survey telescopes to detect the full range of interstellar objects passing through our Solar System.

Astronomers have long been concerned about reflections from satellites showing up in images taken by telescopes and other scientific instruments.

Planned megaconstellations would contaminate the view of the cosmos of four orbiting telescopes Many of the images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope will be blemished by satellite trails if plans to launch megaconstellations succeed.

Light from the half a million satellites that humanity is planning to launch into Earth's orbit in the coming years could contaminate almost all the images taken by space telescopes, NASA astronomers warned Wednesday.